Clearing the Wake Help / Question

I am a mid 40 year old that is just getting started with wakeboarding. I have 3 kids and they have been doing it for a couple of years. I recently hooked up with another older skiier / wakeboarder that is able to drive the boat so now I have been able to get in the water myself.

I am hoping I can get a little clarification on the proper technique to get over the wake.

I have read lots of other threads, listen to other riders teach my kids and even watched videos.

I understand about the progressive gradual turn into the wake, holding my edge all the way through the wake, standing tall, chest out, handle down, look at the horizon, etc.

But my question is this, and hopefully I can explain it well, I understand that you don't want your knees and legs to soak up the wake. That you want to "stand tall" when you hit the wake.

But I seem to do better if I jump or bunny hop just as I leave the wake. I don't always have the timing correct but when I do it feels like I almost float over the wake. BUT, getting the timing down is REALLY tough. Like 1 in 20 attempts.

So, when they say "stand tall", do they mean to just stand in a rigid position and lock your knees all the way into and through the wake or are you suppose to stand up like I mentioned above and unload your weight as you leave the wake?

Basically...I am approaching the wake leaning back like I am sitting in a chair, then I come up to the wake and I am not sure if I should stand all the way through it or hop up as I leave the wake...

Thanks for the help.

http://www.wakeworld.com/news/featur...ariations.html
the stand tall thing can be compared to the extension that you would motion-through to jump on a trampoline. jumping on a trampoline is different than on land, as is jumping on water with a board

one big difference between getting air on a trampoline and on the water is the angle at which you "stand tall" or "extend" through. you will not be standing vertically straight up like on the tramp, but will be extending in relation to your edge. 0:40-0:50 of the video shows and explains this well.

you might try lengthening the rope out as far as it can go to give you an opportunity to practice wake jumps from outside-in and then inside-out off the second wake. the intent is not to clear the entire wake at this length, but to learn the feel of the pop and edge and everything else twice as fast and without intimidation of bad falls. be sure to try some toe-side jumps too if your not already. I have seen many beginners show stronger toeside skills than what they think they have because of all the time they have spent edging out to prepare for heelside jumps. also sometimes you can get a better/different feel for the pop toeside than heelside despite its seeming-unnatural position. sometimes what you learn and feel on toeside can be helpful with heelside and vise versa...and with switch riding too when you get to that. when you get a good feel for the pop and such, shorten the rope again and go for the wake-to-wake jump

It is the process of standing tall (extending legs) as you ride up the wake and not as much as being tall and completely stiffed legged per se. Ideally you will be pretty tall just as you leave the wake, but as long as you are in the process of standing tall up the wake, you will still get decent air even if you did not get to the point where you are completely stiff legged at take off. I don't know if that makes sense but hope it helps. The sublties of this process can take years to master. Good Luck.

The truth of the matter is, the key to getting pop is line tension. Standing tall is just a way of making sure that you do not absorb the energy with your knees which will lessen the tension on the line and in turn kill your pop. You could actually hit the wake with bent knees and get pop as long as your knees didn't bend any further.

The same goes for keeping the handle in close. It's not so much that keeping the handle in will give you better pop, it's more so that letting the handle out as you leave the wake will lessen the tension on the line which will kill your pop. The same is also true with edging. Leaning back on your edge away from the boat creates line tension. When you flatten out your board at the wake you are lessening the tension on the line which will kill your pop. Are you starting to seem a pattern here?

Pop is created when two opposing forces collide. The first opposing force is the boat pulling you in one direction. The second force is you edging in the opposite direction from where the boat is pulling you. The collision is when you hit the wake. If the line is tight the energy created from this collision will transfer through your body from the bottom of your board and lift you in the air. If you absorb the energy with your knees you will not get lift off. If you let the handle move towards the boat you will kill the line tension and the energy will not be created. If you flatten out your board you will not be opposing the force from the boat and energy will not be created.

The key to pop is simple.... keep the line tight every and any way that you can. If standing tall builds muscle memory to prevent you from absorbing the energy, then do it. If pushing the handle down at the wake helps you to build the muscle memory to keep you from letting it out, then do it. If progressing your edge into the wake helps you to build muscle memory to edge harder at the wake instead of flattening out, then do it. My point is that getting pop isn't simply about standing tall, that's just a means to an end. The "end" of that means is line tension.

+1

LINE TENSION, yes. cant believe i forgot to mention that one. one of the more easy feelings to feel out and get the sign that your doing things right. line tension is pretty much key to everything.

when you make your edge out to prepare to cut back in always wait a second for the tension to come back and then edge in and build that tension. edge in only as hard as your willing to maintain or increase

Thanks for all the replies.

I think I am OK with line tension. It is just the whole when to stand aspect that is getting me.

After watching those videos I think I have myself convinced that I need to work on what I would call the bunny hop approach more than the stand up rigid approach.

That's what felt better but it was just hard to get the timing down.

I need to bring a camera out with us next time, I am sure watching myself will reveal a lot of what I am doing wrong.

I did managed to get over the wake several times. I just can't do it consistently.

And that was my goal for the year. Not bad for an old man with bad knees, bad shoulder, bad back, bad ankle, etc...

The weather took a dump on us this weekend so I think we are done for the year. I have all winter to think about this and I'll come back with a vengance in the spring!!

the bunny hop thing as you refer to it is what i call the push off the wake.all of the above advice is excellent but the more people that explain it the better the chances are someone will use the right words.if you have ever jumped off a diving board or jumped on a trampoline these are the best examples. the straigher you are the stiffer you are and you can offer the most resistance against the wake.the wake is caused by the boat pushing water to the bottom. the heavier the boat the more the force,so the better the reaction.the rider has edge ,speed ,size of board and body resistance to work with.you should start your bunnyhop[standing tall] at the trough of the wake,were the white water is outside the wake. don't jump but push off the water on edge. good luck.

I also have a tough time with timing when jumping heel side, but with toe side I don't.

I think the reason is that I tend to a take a slower progressive edge on toe side because jumping TS in general feels a little awkward and my confidence isn't there to charge the wake. The upside though is that coming in slower lets me time my leg extension much easier. On heel side I tend to come in a little faster. I still come in progressive, but I start my cut into the wake a little sooner than TS. This speeds things up compared to my toe side cut and I think it makes it a little tougher to time standing tall at the wake.

I would suggest for you (and me) that we come in much slower and more progressive. This should make it easier to time everything. In fact, when I first started learning I used to do these drills where I wouldn't start my edge into the wake until I got to the trough. This drill really helped emphasize edging and timing. I guess it never hurts to get back to basics no matter how long you've been riding

Oh, and there's nothing wrong with getting your ride on in your 40's..... I'm pushing 43 with a couple kids, but I still get out there every week. Wakeboarding really is a lot like golf. You're constantly competing against yourself trying to improve your game. I figure I have another 10-15 years before I'll hang it up. I ride with guys 10-15 years younger that have a big bag of tricks. It can get really frustrating when everyone else in the boat is throwing inverts and I'm struggling with 180's, but as long as I'm progressing I'm having fun..... even if my progression is at a snails pace

FJK,

There has been some great advice presented in here, and it sounds like you've got the idea down, just got to apply it.

1) Keeping the line tight and handle on your way into the wake is essential.
2) Keeping on your heel edge all the way through your jump ensures and you'll maximize your pop.
3) When you get to the base of the wake, even the wash if you don't want to miss it, begin to straighten your legs. Don't forget to maintain that line tension, handle position and edge. Make your goal to have your legs straightened by the top of the wake. It's not a rapid jumping motion, or a hop, but just straightening the legs out and the edge and wake will do the rest. Make sure to keep them straight through the top of the wake and into the air, or you're going to absorb the work you just did and come up short.

^^^^^ everything said above but most of all, riding time, get out as much as possible. what area are you guys riding in?

Thanks again for all the replies.

Looking forward to hitting the water again in the spring. I will bring all this new found knowledge with me.

Stevo, we are in Iowa but I have been down to your neck of the woods. I have a sister in Austin and we have hit TSR the last 2 winters when we visited her.